Yesterday, rumors began to circulate of a possible recall taking place on the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R. You know, the superbike that’s 20bhp down in North America compared to the ones being sold in the rest of the world. Now, just as it was preparing to go on sale nationwide, sales of the ZX-10R have been halted and the dozen or so units that have already left showrooms are being bought back. Why? We reached out to Kawasaki to find out.

According to Kawasaki, this is a "technical hold" not a recall and is not due to issues with any of the modified North American power-reducing components or anything that could effect safety. Instead, it’s due to a quality issue with a component they’re not disclosing. They also told us the not-a-recall affects 2011 ZX-10Rs worldwide, not just in the US. Customers who have already purchased the bike will receive a full refund.

These are the actions Kawasaki says it’s taking:Unsold units will be returned to KMC warehouses. The units will be redistributed
once Kawasaki is 100 percent confident they reflect company standards for this
highly technical, race-bred machine.

Those who have taken delivery of a unit will be instructed to return the unit to the
dealership for a full refund and will be among the first to have the option of
receiving a new unit once the technical hold has been lifted.

Contact your dealer if you’ve recently purchased one of the new Ninjas.